


The sirens are screamin' and the fires are howlin'

by immortalstrand



Category: 9-1-1: Lone Star (TV 2020)
Genre: Car Accidents, Fire Engine Crash, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Medical Inaccuracies, Medical Trauma, Past Drug Addiction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-08
Updated: 2021-01-08
Packaged: 2021-03-12 06:01:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,808
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28630704
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/immortalstrand/pseuds/immortalstrand
Summary: TK Strand was not a danger magnet, however the Universe kept disagreeing and trying to prove him wrong. Carlos Reyes would probably end up grey before he was forty.
Relationships: Carlos Reyes/TK Strand, Grace Ryder/Judd Ryder (9-1-1 Lone Star), Judd Ryder & TK Strand
Comments: 9
Kudos: 147





	The sirens are screamin' and the fires are howlin'

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you all so much for the feedback on my first fic.  
> Once again this is not beta'd and all mistakes and terrible formatting is my own.  
> Title is taken from Bat Out of Hell by Meatloaf
> 
> Everything 9-1-1 LoneStar is owned by Fox and not me.

As Carlos arrived at the scene he really didn’t know what to think. The 126 engine was on its side in the middle of the road, clearly one of the water tanks had bust with the water pouring out underneath but it was draining away without much issue. He could see Mateo sitting on the sidewalk looking pretty dazed and holding what looked like a t-shirt to a bleeding head wound- at least he was conscious. Getting out of his police cruiser quickly he headed towards the stranded vehicle as he spotted Marjan climbing out of the door now situated on the top with Paul following suit, although the other man seemed to hover at the door before exiting as if he was talking to someone still inside. None of them looked seriously injured, well at first glance it all looked superficial. 

Heading over towards them along with a few other officers and the arriving paramedics he called out to his friends, “Are you guys okay? Where are TK, Judd and Owen?” he asked shielding his eyes as he looked up to them and catching the sun. “Still inside,” Marjan replied before immediately turning back to Paul, “I’ll get the neck collar and splints.” Before she was gone, slowly making her way along the side of the truck where the extraction medical equipment was kept.

From his position on the ground, he could only hear muffled voices very quietly coming from within the turned over fire engine cabin, from the muffled conversation he concluded that at least all three men were still conscious inside at least. In the time it took for Marjan to fish out what they needed and start to slide/walk along the truck with the supplies a ladder had been laid against the undercarriage of the vehicle and even though he knew he should stay out of the way, Carlos found himself suddenly up the ladder and next to Paul at the door. Finally, able to see inside, his breath caught in his throat and his eyes widened.

Judd was awkwardly perched, with probably what looked like a broken wrist in a makeshift sling strapped to his chest, across from TK, they seemed to be having a normal conversation which was out of place in their current predicament. TK for his part was on his side against what once had been the door to the cabin with cuts and grazes littering his face and arms from the shattered glass. Judd didn’t look much better for the same reason. What really sent the chill down Carlos’ spine was the position of Owen. He knew Owen normally rode in the front of the truck alongside the driver, so would have had a seatbelt on, so in theory would have been slightly better protected from the flip. The older man in question however was reaching through from the cab and resting strong hands either side of his son’s neck, stabilizing it and stopping TK from moving.

There was a cough at his side which broke him out of his panic spiral, it was Marjan. “Carlos, I need to pass these down.” She said, moving him out of the way to pass the neck collar and splints down as best she could to Judd. At the mention of his name, he caught the attention of the men below, with Owen and Judd looking up to catch his eyes.

“Hey TK, loverboy’s here…no wait, kid, don’t move, we’ve already told you.” Judd said after nodding to the cop looking down on them. There was a slight edge of panic to the firefighter’s tone which Carlos was not sure how to feel about but now was not the time for thinking too much on it. “How about we get Carlos down here to keep you company instead of me huh? I’ll bet he’s had an exciting day to tell you about.” The man continued before adjusting his position to stand up after a final rub of TK’s hair.

Grabbing the arm that reached up to him, Carlos helped Judd maneuver his way out of the confined cabin space and up to the fresh air outside. “Hey Carlos, look, just go down and talk to him, keep him distracted while we figure out how to get him out. Do not let him move, we do not know but he said he couldn’t feel his legs after the world stopped spinning, but he took a hard whack off the window on impact so he’s also pretty concussed. It is difficult to tell what is up right now but he didn’t have a seatbelt on.”

Nodding at the information he was given but not really processing it, Carlos slide his way carefully down to where Judd had been sitting, giving Owen a nod before facing his boyfriend. “Hey Tiger- it’s been a rough day, huh?” he offered a smile as best he could. TK grunted in response, “You could say that. They’re making a big fuss, I’m sure I’ve just got a bruise in the wrong place.” The young firefighter sighed but made no move to disagree with how he was being held in place.

He could hear more than see Owen roll his eyes, “TK, you said you couldn’t feel your legs remember. That’s why Marjan is going to put the collar on and then we’ll try and get you out of here, okay?” Carlos mirrored the frown that appeared on TK’s face, “I don’t remember saying that…did I say that?” The confusion and panic were going to be an issue, if TK couldn’t remember telling them he couldn’t feel his legs, he would be no help in getting out of the truck.

“How about I tell you about the morning I’ve had, huh?” Carlos offered a distraction, “Well it started basically as soon as I left the house. You know the pothole just down the street, the one that’s getting bigger every day, well guess who hit it nice and solidly with the car this morning. The car’s fine, so don’t be mad but gave me quite the bump. Then there was no fresh coffee when I got to the station…”

TK chuckled quietly, “Oh, you without coffee first thing in the morning, that’s never a good thing.” Carlos smiled, “Hey, you’re worse than me, so be nice.” He didn’t really know what he talked about after that, just went through some of the hilarity of the paperwork he had been dealing with before the call out to the crash had come through, but it gave Marjan enough time to get the collar round TK’s neck and to get his hips, legs and back secured before they were lifting him out of the cabin and straight into a waiting ambulance along with Owen. It had felt like an age but as he got back into his cruiser to follow to the hospital, he noted it had only been about an hour since he’d arrived on scene.

It was on the drive over to the ER that he stopped briefly at the house to grab the overnight bag they both always had prepared for these sorts of incidents, but he still arrived maybe only 15 or so minutes after TK was taken inside.

Two years. They had been together two years, they were in a good place within their relationship, there hadn’t been a medical trauma other than a dislocated shoulder (TK) and a broken ankle (Carlos) since they had been official. Ever since TK had finally agreed to move in together just about a year ago everything had been great. Sure, they had some epic fights and disagreements, but with the stress of their jobs and their own individual issues it was hardly unexpected. But they were stronger than ever. Ever since the fight that had resulted in them not speaking for a week a year and a half ago they had agreed never to go to work or bed angry with each other, it was not worth the risk. That fight had shown them that.

Sitting in the waiting room on his own, Carlos let his mind wander back to that week, it was not something he needed to be doing at this moment, but he let his memories take over. The memory of not speaking to his other half for so long only to receive a call from Owen to say that TK had gone missing after shift and if Carlos knew where he could be. The other man had not been difficult to find, sitting in the park they had their first official date in, what had been concerning was the nearly finished bottle of whisky at his side. The first relapse since he moved to Austin. Carlos had been there ever since, when he eventually got the shivering man back to his dad’s house, when he sat rubbing his back and the hangover and guilt kicked in, the tears realizing what had happened. The fight had been about nothing really, but the lack of contact had been enough to push them both to their limits. It had taken them a while to come back from that, but they had done it together along with the strong family support the 126, Owen and Carlos’ parents had provided without question.

Rubbing a hand over his face, he was quietly joined by Paul and Marjan, pulling him out of the dark place his brain had taken him to. As the three sat and waited for news on all 4 of their colleagues they laughed and joked about the most recent team outing. It had become a tradition that the whole of the 126 and their significant others would get together once a month and do something fun, something to keep the family strong. Last month had been crazy golf. Mateo had been a pro at it, wiping the floor with everyone around him. Judd just got too frustrated too quickly but had enjoyed making fun of the golf skills of his chosen younger siblings. Grace had been quietly dignified with her skills, Marjan and Paul got far too competitive, TK was totally useless, Owen had been probably second best after Mateo. Carlos, the cop who should have good hand and eye coordination had turned out to be barely any better than his boyfriend to the whole crew’s enjoyment.

It was during this time that Owen joined them, and Grace arrived having dropped Judd and her baby daughter off at her father in law’s so she could collect her husband. Now they were just waiting on TK, Judd and Mateo. Carlos and Owen had had a conversation off to the side so the fire captain could explain that TK had eventually passed out during the ambulance ride over, but they didn’t know if that was the concussion or pain since he refused any pain medication. The tremor and fear in the older man’s voice made Carlos hug him, maybe he needed the comfort as well. As much as Owen was his boyfriend’s dad Carlos liked to think that they were friends as well.

“He’ll be fine…it’s TK….he’s going to be fine.” He told the New York native, if it was himself or the captain, he was convincing no one needed to know.

Judd showed up around an hour later, some bandages covering the worst cuts and a brand-new blue cast on his wrist clearly fed up after being poked and prodded through all the tests and x-rays. “Any news?” he asked as he sat beside his tired wife. The others shook their heads. When a doctor eventually came and explained that Mateo had a nasty concussion and would need to be kept overnight, Marjan and Paul left to go and check on their young friend and keep him company. That left Owen, Carlos, Judd and Grace to wait on any updates on TK.

It felt like hours later when the doctor they were waiting to see appeared, a tired look on the man’s face, “Family of Tyler Strand?” he asked them, clearly using their uniforms as a clue to their identities. “Well. Tyler suffered a double pelvic fracture which caused some internal bleeding within his abdomen. We’ve carried out the surgery to insert some place and a couple pins to stabilize the pelvis and stopped the bleeding.” There was a pause in which Owen interrupted, “But what about his spine? He said his legs were numb at the scene.” It was the sort of question any nervous father would want to know the answer to. Carlos and Judd turned back to the doctor. 

“We can’t say for certain until there’s less inflammation and swelling but the MRI and CT scans did not show any sign of spinal trauma. Due to the fracture location and the swelling, we’re optimistic that it’s spinal shock and he should regain feeling in the next couple of days. If not, we’ll need to do some more investigations. I would remain positive at this point. His concussion was not as bad as expected, he just needs to rest.” The man added, reaching out to pat Owen’s shoulder. “The nurses are getting him set up in recovery right now and they’ll come and get you shortly.” He said with a smile before bidding them a good night and heading to deal with his other patients.

Judd couldn’t stop the laugh that came out of his mouth, “Thank goodness for that boy’s hard head.” It broke the tension of waiting enough that the three men and Grace could relax a little now that they knew there was a positive outlook. “I’ll come back and see him in the morning, he’ll just want to see you two tonight I think.” the firefighter smiled, bidding them both goodbye before heading home himself, he also needed to recover safe in the knowledge that his “little brother” was going to be on the mend. That left Owen and Carlos sitting in the waiting room when a nurse came to collect them and take them to room 232.

Inside a tired but mostly awake TK was hooked up to monitors, he blinked rubbing his eyes as his two favourite people entered. “Hey” was all he had the energy to say quietly. “Happy date night” he grinned at Carlos as his dad pressed a kiss to his head and his boyfriend gripped his hand. There was a cloudiness in his eyes, probably from whatever pain medication they had him on and his concussion, but all things being considered he looked reasonably well.

Owen sighed, “How are you feeling?”

“Not bad really, but they’ve got me on some good nerve blockers, so everything is pretty numb. Doctor said he doesn’t think it’s more than a fracture- he spoke to you as well?” TK asked. Carlos nodded, “Yeah, they’re optimistic about recovery, well you’re still going to be out of the game for a while but hopefully within a few months and some good rehab you’ll be back saving lives.” He explained, sitting down on the chair next to the bed, letting Owen stay right beside his son with fingers threading through the younger man’s hair. 

“How’s everyone else?” 

“Mateo’s staying overnight with a concussion, Judd’s got a broken wrist but other than that we’re just battered and bruised. I’ve told you to wear seatbelts in the back so many times TK,” Owen sighed again looking, and sounding tired. TK sighed letting his eyes close too tired to have this argument right now. Carlos reading the waves of exhaustion coming off both men decided to intervene. “Look, how about we all get some rest and deal with this all in the morning. Owen, you need to go home and get some sleep, I’ll stay here, then you can come and keep him company in the morning, okay?” he offered as a solution to diffuse the situation. It was then with a quiet nod, a quick hug to both the younger men in the room, that Owen Strand headed home for the night.

Carlos turned back to TK, “You get some sleep, you can barely keep you eyes open.” He chuckled pressing a quick kiss to his boyfriend’s mouth, “We can talk in the morning, okay? I’m just really glad you’re okay.” He smiled, using his thumb to smooth out TK’s forehead. Barely a few seconds later, after a mumbled “Love you” TK was asleep.

Making himself as comfortable as he could in the hospital chair, with his hand resting on the firefighter’s bicep, Carlos settled in for the night. Maybe he could get some sleep, but his mind was spinning focused on one thing. The small black box hidden in the back of the gun safe maybe after today, once TK had recovered, it was time to plan that weekend in New York.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm thinking of maybe making this the first part of a series but I'm undecided, let me know what you think!
> 
> Find me on Tumblr @ImmortalStrand 
> 
> Much love x


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